Saturday, 7 July 2018 - At 189 kilometres, the 1st stage of the 2018 Tour de France travels from Noirmoutier-en-l'Île and Fontenay-le-Comte. Expect a fast finisher to be the first man in yellow.

Noirmoutier hosted the Tour de France before. This island off the Atlantic coast of France is connected to the mainland by bridge, yet on several occasions La Grande Boucle preferred to use the Passage du Gois, which is a paved-over sandbank. Twice a day the 4.5 kilometres passage is flooded by the high tide. In 1999, the slippery surface caused a fall in the peloton, resulting in a six-minute split. It was the 2nd stage, but the crash ended the hopes of pre-race favourites Zülle and Gotti and many others.

In 2018, the organisation shies away from the Passage du Gois. There is also a bridge and after leaving the village Noirmoutier-en-l’Île, the riders cross the bridge before stage 1 continues to Fontenay-le-Comte. Much of the route follows the twisting Vendée coastline, so cross winds and echelons could be lurking during the entire day.

The finish is in Fontenay-le-Comte, a village that never hosted the Tour de France before. The stage winner will be applauded three times as he takes both the yellow and green jersey, too.